Whiplash
by CommonSense
Summary: Homecoming. One of the biggest high school dances of the year, and Sky High was no exception. LashOC, Oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but Emma.

**Author's Note:** I wrote this story several years ago when I first saw Sky High. I recently rewrote it because it's been a while and my writing style has changed.

Emma paced the gym floor nervously, her heels clicking with every step. Her long chestnut hair hung flat, as usual, and she was wearing a simple black dress. She wasn't the biggest fan of dances, but her parents had forced her to come. In all actuality, they had told her to "get the hell out of the house and make some friends, for god's sake." Sighing, Emma stopped pacing and slumped into a chair at one of the many tables that filled the gym. It was true, she had absolutely no friends. It wasn't because she didn't want them; she just didn't feel like she fit in with most of the students. She was stuck in sidekick classes because her only power was intangibility, meaning she could phase through objects, which really wasn't a big help in the area of crime fighting. Emma was also very shy, and usually used her power to phase through walls to avoid people. She was the perfect wallflower.

She smiled when Lash and Speed walked through the door. They looked odd in their formal attire. In typical bullying fashion, Lash led Speed over to the punch table and they took turns spilling punch on Mr. Boy. Emma shook her head and toyed with the frayed edges of the tablecloth in front of her. She'd had a crush on Lash since her first day at Sky High several months ago, but he literally didn't even know her name. His only interaction with her was the many times he and Speed had thrown her in trashcans and tripped her in the hallways, just because they liked bullying freshmen. Still, despite all evidence to the contrary, Emma thought there was a possibility that Lash was a good person at heart.

She was in the middle of a daydream about Lash when the plastic punch bowl, now empty, flew across the room and hit her square in the face. She toppled off of her chair and fell to the ground. "Fantastic." she muttered as she stood up and brushed herself off. She glanced at the punch table to find out who had thrown the bowl and noticed Speed and Lash high-fiving. For some reason, this angered Emma more than it should have. Maybe it was a release of all the pent up anger she had from being bullied so much, or maybe it was because her parents forced her to come to a stupid dance at a stupid school where she had no friends and crappy powers. Whatever the reason, Emma picked up the punch bowl and threw it right back at the two bullies. They ducked just in time and the punch bowl went skidding onto the dance floor and proceeded to get kicked by couples who were slow-dancing. Lash and Speed stared blankly at the girl who had dared to throw a punch bowl at them.

Emma suddenly felt very stupid and didn't want to be around when Lash and Speed inevitably decided to beat her up for what she'd done, so she bolted. She didn't even bother opening doors, instead she just phased through wall after wall until she found herself outside in front of the school. Panting, she sat down on the stairs that led up to the front doors. She closed her eyes and leaned against the concrete banister. The cold concrete and the crisp night air felt good after being cooped up in that stuffy gym. Emma stayed on the stairs for a half hour before the front doors of the school opened and she heard voices.

"Go check the classrooms, I'll check out here."

Emma heard the front door close and opened her eyes. She stood up and turned around, startled to find herself face to face with Lash. She froze, glued to the spot. As soon as he recognized her as the girl who'd thrown the punch bowl, Lash smiled mischievously.

"Hi there."

Emma didn't know what to say. She'd been caught, and now he was probably going to throw her in a trashcan again.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Lash teased.

Emma rolled her eyes. It couldn't hurt to taunt him, since she was already in trouble for the whole punch bowl thing. "No. And that's a stupid cliché."

Lash looked surprised at her response. "Oh, you're a feisty one. So tell me, what makes a little freshman like you think that you can throw a punch bowl at me and get away with it?"

"I was banking on the assumption that you'd be so surprised that someone stood up to you, that you'd just let me go with a warning," Emma smirked. "What do you think? Is a tap on the wrists with a ruler an appropriate punishment, teacher? I promise I won't do it again. I've learned my lesson," she said sarcastically, holding out her wrists.

Lash surprised her by grabbing her arms and pulling her closer to him. They were almost nose to nose, and Emma could see the flecks of gold in his big brown eyes. "I was thinking of something a little harsher than that," he said. "After all, the punishment should fit the crime."

Emma giggled. She liked being this close to him, it made her heart race. "Oh wow. What are you gonna do? Give me a swirly? I'm so scared."

"You'd better watch out, that little mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble soon." As Lash talked, Emma couldn't help but stare at his lips, entranced.

"Believe me, it already has," Emma said. Before Lash could respond, Emma summoned up all of her courage and leaned forward, brushing her lips against his. Surprised, Lash let go of Emma's arms and stepped back.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Emma teased. Lash snapped back to reality and smirked as he took a step toward Emma.

"You know, kid, you're not bad for a freshman," he said, grabbing her waist and leaning in for another kiss. Emma smiled against Lash's lips as she snaked her hands up to his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair.

Suddenly, the front door of the school opened and Speed ran out. Lash and Emma stopped kissing and broke apart.

"What is it?" Lash asked.

"Gwen says it's time," Speed said simply.

Lash nodded and turned to Emma, "Gotta go, kid. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." And with that both he and Speed ran back into the school, leaving Emma alone on the steps again. She smiled and brought a hand up to her lips. They were still tingling.


End file.
